Submitted

Tue, Jan 21st 2014 03:45 pm

Cancer
center, collaborators create historical display to be shown as part of
commemorations in nation's capital

From its
seminal studies in the first half of the 20th century linking tobacco use and
cancer incidence to its latest findings on electronic cigarettes, Roswell Park
Cancer Institute has been a major force in tobacco-control research. So,
as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. surgeon general's
report on smoking and health, issued in January 1964, faculty from RPCI's department
of health behavior are drawing attention to the major gains from the past
half-century in our understanding of how tobacco impacts health -and to the
challenges that still face the international public-health community in regard
to use and regulation of tobacco products.

"Our
knowledge of how smoking affects the body has increased exponentially over the
last five decades, and we've made tremendous advances in understanding the
addictive power of nicotine," said Andrew Hyland, Ph.D., chair of the
department of health behavior at the comprehensive cancer center. "But
really, we've just scratched the surface in terms of implications for public
policy."

The 1964
report, which concluded that cigarette smoking "contributes substantially
to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death
rate," served as a major and historic step to curb the devastating toll of
tobacco use.

In
connection with those national observances, Roswell Park worked with
collaborators at the Medical University of South Carolina to develop a
historical display, 40 feet wide by 8 feet tall, documenting the conclusions
and impact of the 1964 report. The display, which debuted Jan. 17 at
the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, was the brainchild of K. Michael Cummings, Ph.D.,
MPH, a longtime faculty member and former chair of health behavior at RPCI, who
is now on the MUSC faculty.

Hyland
notes Roswell Park's contributions to tobacco research and policy have been
considerable.

"From
the research of doctors Saxon Graham, Morton Levin and John Pickren, which
played a central role in that groundbreaking 1964 report, right up to the 2012
report, Roswell Park faculty have been well-represented in the various surgeon
general's reports, serving as researchers, reviewers and authors," he
said. "We're proud of that long history of research that has been
instrumental in helping to reduce the debilitating impact of tobacco."

Roswell
Park became one of the very first centers to routinely document the smoking
histories of its patients, in 1938, and undertook the first case-control study
of cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

RPCI
also, under the leadership of people such as Cummings, did pioneering work in
the arena of legal intervention, scouring tobacco-industry records to document
just what tobacco companies knew about the effects of smoking, particularly on
targeted and vulnerable populations, including children, Hyland added.

Today,
Roswell Park scientists continue to conduct research on tobacco-control issues
such as flavored tobacco, graphic warning labels and e-cigarettes. RPCI also is
engaged in community service, providing education and information to reduce the
burden of tobacco through programs such as the Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free
Coalition, New York State Smokers' Quitline and Tobacco Cessation Center of
Western New York.

"Tobacco
use remains the most preventable cause of death, and we need to ensure that effective
resources are available to protect youth from ever starting, and to help
smokers quit," noted Martin Mahoney, M.D., Ph.D., a RPCI physician who is
medical director of the New York Quitline and also directs the TCCWNY.
"The Roswell Park tobacco-control program is a marriage between scientific
research and community engagement. Both are necessary for reducing the
tremendous toll of disease, disability and death caused by tobacco use."

The
mission of Roswell Park Cancer Institute is to understand, prevent and cure
cancer. Founded in 1898, RPCI is one of the first cancer centers in the country
to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center
and remains the only facility with this designation in upstate New York. The institute
is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an
alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and
is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more
information, visit www.roswellpark.org,
call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724)
or email [email protected]. Follow
RPCI on Facebook and Twitter.